Bulgarian Minister of Defence visits Saab

The Bulgarian Minister of Defence Anuy Angelov met yesterday with senior representatives of the Swedish defence and security company Saab as part of a bilateral official visit to Sweden. The Minister visited Saab’s production facility in Linkoping where the Gripen fighter aircraft is being manufactured.

The Bulgarian delegation was hosted by Lennart Sindahl, Executive Vice President and Head of Saab Business Area Aeronautics. Topics concerning the modernization of the Bulgarian Air Force were discussed and the possibilities for Sweden to deliver Gripen fighters to Bulgaria.

”Bulgaria is an important market for Saab and we see a strong possibility to develop the industrial ties between our two countries”, said Lennart Sindahl, Executive Vice President and Head of Saab Business Area Aeronautics.

Minister Angelov will also meet with the Swedish Minister for Defence Sten Tolgfors and Saab President and CEO, Håkan Buskhe.

The Bulgarian Ministry of Defence recently issued a Request for Information for multirole fighter aircraft to the Bulgarian Air Force. Gripen is one the contenders. Sweden and Saab remain fully committed to the modernization process of the Bulgarian Air Force. Sweden offers Bulgaria brand new, fully NATO interoperable, multirole Gripen fighters in an intergovernmental deal.

Gripen is the first of the new generation, multi-role fighter aircraft to enter operational service. Using the latest technology it is capable of performing an extensive range of air-to-air, air-to-surface and reconnaissance missions employing the latest weapons.

Defense and security company Saab is exploring the potential for the recently announced Gripen Aggressor, to meet the needs of the United States Air Force (USAF) for Adversary Air (ADAIR) combat training.